1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a screen sharing system and a data transfer method that shares a screen among a plurality of information processing apparatuses.
2. Description of the Related Art
A screen sharing system, which shares a screen among a plurality of information processing apparatuses, has been used in recent times in a wide range of applications. The screen sharing system has been used in a circumstance such as the following:                when remotely controlling an information processing apparatus that is located in a remote location; and        at a conference, when displaying a screen that is present upon an information processing apparatus, such as a laptop computer that has been brought to a conference room, via a network, upon a large screen display that is installed in the conference room.        
In addition to the screen sharing among the plurality of information processing apparatuses, a circumstance also arises wherein a user transfers a file between a memory space of different information processing apparatuses, by performing an operation upon a shared screen that is present upon a client information processing apparatus. Refer to Japanese Patent No. 3,715,661, Japanese Patent Application Laid Open No. 2006-172193, and the Apple Remote Desktop 3 software package from Apple, Inc., for instances of such a circumstance. In the present circumstance, the term “shared screen” refers to a screen whereupon a screen of a different information processing apparatus is displayed virtually, by way of a screen sharing function. As an instance thereof, a display screen that is present upon a server information processing apparatus is displayed upon the shared screen that is present upon the client information processing apparatus, by way of the screen sharing function.
A problem exists, however, with the screen sharing system described herein, in that it is possible to perform a data transfer only upon a file by way of the operation upon the shared screen.
As a consequence of the problem described herein, the user is incapable of such a usage by way of the operation upon the shared screen of transferring an image data that is displayed within an application to a memory space of an information processing apparatus that differs from an information processing apparatus whereupon the application that displays the image is running, as an instance.